+ Where do I ask questions?

It depends on the question. If it's a general question that other participants might be able to help with, you can ask questions in our facebook group.

If the question is in referance to an order, a missing email, or basically anything that has to do directly with you and your participation, you need to contact us through the contact page of this website. Questions asked on Facebook are far more likely to get overlooked and not everyone handling our social media presense has access to be able to troubleshoot your order.

+ Why didn't I get a response to the question I asked?

If you asked on Facebook, it's likely nobody saw it.

If you contacted us through the contact form on this website, a couple things could have happened. We've recieved a lot of inquiries where the person inquiring misstyped their email address so we could not respond. If you have some sort of spam filter where anybody who contacts you needs to fill out a form before they get "approved", you won't hear back from us.

Also, if we are receiving a high volume of emails and your question was easily answered somewhere on this website or by asking in our facebook group, you may not get a reponse right away, if at all.

There's also a chance we just missed your email. Try sending one again!

+ Can I speak to someone over the phone?

During registration opening we do not have the capacity to help customers over the phone. To avoid missing out, we advise participants watch the registration tutorial, read the instructions, and register themselves. Once registration opening has calmed down, we may be able to assist with specific credit card and check-out issues over the phone. Contact us and if your issue is something that can be solved over the phone, we will let you know.

+ Do I need an account to participate?

Nope. It’s 100% optional. If you don’t want to create an account, don’t. If you can't ever remember passwords, don't bother with creating an account. In the checkout process simply click, "Check out as a guest".

Here are the benefits of an account:

• You can register a payment method in advance so you don't have to spend time typing in numbers.
• You can register your email address in advance so you don't have to worry about typing it in wrong.
• After you register, you can view your orders here on our website so you don't need to worry about missing your order confirmation. Note: All orders will say "Pending" until after the event.
• You will be able to review your workshops from previous events before registering for future events.

None of these benefits is worth the hassle of constantly resetting your password if you lose it over and over again.

If you have an account, but can't remember the password, you can STILL check out as a guest.

+ I lost my account password!

Hint: Passwords require an uppercase, lowercase, number, and special character.

If you're checking out and it's asking for a password that you can't remember, check out as a guest. You may need to click the small print that says "sign out" before you can "continue as a guest".

If you want to reset it your password, click “LOGIN” at the top right side of the page on a computer. Then click “Forgot Password?”. If "LOGIN" doesn't appear at the top of the page, click "ACCOUNT", then log out. We do not have access to any of your personal account information so we cannot reset your password for you, nor can we see your payment information.

If you try to do this and the system does not even recognize your email address, that means you don't have an account. You don't need one, but you can create one if you would like.

DO NOT create an account if you have a propensity for forgetting or losing passwords and/or are not tech-savvy enough to reset your password when you do lose/forget it. This feature is optional and we only keep it around because so many of our patrons appreciate the convinence it offers them. But not everyone is a good fit for thi feature. If you lose or forget your password and choose to email us for help instead of following the directions above, we WILL simply delete your account. So unless you want your account and all it's history to be deleted, don't contact us about lost passwords.

Just because you are on our email list does not mean you have an account.

+ I want to change my account to a different email.

You'll need to create a new account with the new email. Accounts are secure and we can't modify your personal information.

+ Will Workshops be Recorded?

Instructors may record their own workshops, but participants may not. Workshop recordings will NOT be distributed to the public in any way, but may be provided to students who registered for that workshop. Each instructor makes their own decision regarding whether or not to record and whether or not to make those recordings available to the participants later.

+ My workshop orders all say "Pending"!

All orders will say "Pending" until after the event takes place. There is nothing to worry about.

+ Can I give workshops as a gift?

Yes. When you pay for your workshop, enter the email address of the person you want the invitation to go to. They will also recieve your order confirmation but you can contact us and ask us to send you one as well.

Do not purchase multiples of the same workshop on one order to give as gifts. You will only get admission for 1 person and the duplicates will be placed back into inventory in order to give priority to those who are present on opening day. If you want to buy a duplicate workshop as a gift, go back through and place another order using your friend's email address.

+ My spouse and I want to take the same workshops, do we need to register twice?

Yes. You need to place two seperate orders for this.

Instructors cannot dictate how many people you have in a room at your house and they won't see anybody off camera, but paying for each participant is the right thing to do. Instructors reserve the right to remove you from a meeting if they see you have a crowd of people taking advantage of them.

+ Should I buy each workshop individually?

No.

If there is one workshop you are determined to get into, that's fine. Check out right away. But if you do this for every single workshop, you'll spend a ton of time checking out over and over again and may lose out on even more workshops in the process.

Placing multiple orders also makes you more vulnerable to scheduling mistakes and double bookings. IF you place multiple orders, make sure you're not ordering the same workshop twice, or double booking yourself. It's much easier to keep track of these things if you register for all of your workshops in one order.

+ I didn't plan ahead and now I'm in a hurry. Can I just register and reserve a bunch of workshops and then "drop" the ones I don't want to take?

There is no way for us to control how many workshops any single person signs up for. However you can't "drop" a workshop you have signed up for or give it away. Per our important disclosures, all workshop sales are final and non-refundable.

+ Something came up and I can't attend.

The good news is you will still get a workshop handout and whatever else the instructor had in store for you as far as support material.

+ Can I sell or give my workshops away if I can't attend?

Please contact us if you cannot attend and would like to give your workshop away or would like us to add it back to our inventory for someone else to have.

+ My workshop link didn't work. Can I get a refund?

If you have trouble at any point during the festival, you should always check in at the help desk.

Here is a video that shows a couple ways to join a meeting if you have trouble clicking it in an email:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=idyrYUlCMVc&feature=emb_logo

Not if the workshop goes off without a hitch and you are the only person who couldn't get the link to work. In this case, there is no evidence that this problem is the fault of the instructor. Purchasing these online workshops is a commitment on the participant's part to learn how to enter a Zoom meeting. We've provided numerous forms of support to help prepare everyone.

All instructors are required to follow certain protocols to ensure that participants are able to enter their meetings. QDF provides resources to assist you in preparing to use technology to attend. If there are a number of people experiencing the same problem with the same workshop, this may indicate the meeting was not set-up to follow QDF protocol and you may be entitled to a refund.

+ How do I watch the concerts?

The concerts will be conducted in Zoom. Ticket holders will be sent an access link and they will just need to visit the link to watch the concerts. The concerts will be slightly different from the meetings you attend for your workshops. You will NOT have a camera or microphone. Nobody will be able to see or hear you, so you can sit back and relax!

The process for accessing the concert link has changed! You still will enter your name when you join, and the concert structure is largely the same as our previous events, but this method of link delivery is much more reliable.

Upon placing your order, you will be directed to an Order Confirmation page with a PDF download. Download this PDF and keep it or print it. (This will also come in handy if you miss-typed your email address during check-out).

Additionally, you will not only receive an order confirmation email, you will also receive a second email that says “Your Order is Ready”. KEEP this email! You can download, save and print the PDF from his email as well. Even if you lose the PDF the email itself also has the link. If the download link expires, you do not need to contact us, just use the link enclosed in that email!

This method of delivery is extremely reliable and with all these methods there is no reason anyone purchasing a concert ticket should not be able to locate their access link. Should you manage to download the PDF, lose it, then lose the email with the link, you can contact us or visit the help desk. Please understand that if you wait too long to track down this information, we may all be in the concerts and unable to assist you.

+ Can I give a concert ticket as a gift?

Yes. When you order, enter the recipient's email address. They will recieve your order confirmation. You can contact us to have another confirmation sent to you.

If you give workshops or concert tickets as a gift, make sure the recipient understands how this event works. If the recipient of a gift contacts us after the event is over, there's not much we can do to help.

+ Can I just buy a ticket for 1 concert?

Because of the high volume of performers and attendees, the logistics involved in having tickets available ala carte would be very prone to confusion and mistakes.

For this reason, we offer our all-access passes at a price that would be be reasonable for just 1 concert. Each concert is several hours long.

+ Do you really expect us to sit and watch concerts for 10 hours?

No.

The benefit of online concerts is you can do whatever you want during the concerts. If you want to bring your iPad into the closet and listen while you organize your sock drawer, you can!

+ Can I watch the concerts on my TV?

Yes.

There are a number of ways to mirror a computer or mobile device to a television. There is a link under "How it Works" called "Zoom TV" that may help you. A search on youtube may help you find instructions on how to connect your device to your TV. This is nice for workshops too!

+ Will the concerts be recorded to watch later?

These concerts contain copyrighted material and we have purchased performance licening to cover this. We do not have licensing to distribute recordings of these concerts.

These concerts are live events.

+ How do I keep the chat from popping up at the botom of my screen?

If you open the chat panel, it will take up a little of the screen but will keep the chat from popping up at the bottom.

+ I didn't receive my order confirmation!

Contact us. We can resend it and/or check on your order to make sure you actually have one and that you typed your email address correctly.

+ Where are my workshop invitations?

QDF Invitations will be sent between the Monday and Tuesday before the event.

PLEASE check your spam/junk/promotions/bulk folders before contacting us. If you are sure you don't have your invite email by the Wednesday before QDF, contact us immediately! If you don't get an invitation, there's no way for us to know unless you tell us in advance.

You can always check in at the help desk during the festival to track down a lost invitation as well.

+ Where is my concert access?

Check the concerts page to find out whenand how the concert invitations have been sent.

If you've checked your spam/bulk/promotions/junk folders and are missing your concert access email, please contact us immediately. You can also get help at the help desk during the running hours.

+ I'm not getting official emails from QDF.

Our official email blasts may get filtered into spam/junk/bulk/promotions. You can add info@virtualdulcimerfest.com to your email contacts to prevent our emails from getting filtered into spam. They will still get filtered into "Promotions" with some services.

It might be possible that you didn't subscribe to our emails or verify your subscribtion. Subscribe again if you think this may be the case.

+ When will registration open?

We have over 500 workshops to organize and are working as hard as we can to get them ready for registration. An email will be sent out announcing the registration opening date in advance.

+ How do I register?

If registration is open, there will be multiple links directing you to the registration pages in the navigation of this website.

There will also be instructions on how to register. The process is similar to buying anything online. You simply add the workshops you want to your cart and then complete the checkout process.

+ All the workshops are sold out!

Some workshops WILL sell out quickly. But we have over 500 workshops to choose from and there will be more than enough available for everyone who wants to participate.

If you are really only interested in one or two instructors and are not interested in trying something new, we encourage you to support those instructors in other ways. All of our instructors have numerous offerings outside of this event.

+ Do some people get early access to registration?

No.

Registration opens at the same time for EVERYONE. Nobody can register early. If a workshop sells out quickly, it's because it was in very high demand and 30 people all purchased immediately. Nobody gets in early. One person is responsible for opening the registration portal. It happens globally and nobody has access before that happens.

If, somehow, somebody is able to register before registration opens, their order will be cancelled.

We understand it's not fun when you don't get the workshops you wanted, especially if you spent time studying the schedule and planning before hand. We try to make this process as fair as possible. But some people have fast internet, some have fast computers, and some have fast fingers.

The best thing we can do is continue to add more instructors and workshops, which is what we have done. There is plenty of space with over 500 workshops.

+ If I have items in my cart, are they reserved?

No, unfortunately, they are not. Workshops can sell out after you add them to your cart but before you check out. If this happens, you should remove the sold-out item(s) and complete your checkout. THEN go back and look for alternatives.

We understand that big organizations like Ticket Master will reserve your purchase once it is in your cart. It is easy to get spoiled by the e-commerce sollutions of large corporations, but we are an online dulcimer festival and we don't have the resources to implement that kind of system.

There are over 500 workshops and we are really excited for you to meet these instructors.

+ Should I buy each workshop individually?

No.

If there is one workshop you are determined to get into, that's fine. Check out right away. But if you do this for every single workshop, you'll spend a ton of time checking out over and over again and may lose out on even more workshops in the process.

Placing multiple orders also makes you more vulnerable to scheduling mistakes and double bookings. IF you place multiple orders, make sure you're not ordering the same workshop twice, or double booking yourself. It's much easier to keep track of these things if you register for all of your workshops in one order.

+ I can't find the shopping cart to check out!

Here is a direct link: https://www.virtualdulcimerfest.com/cart

+ How do I remove items from my cart?

When you click the shopping cart icon, click "Checkout" at the bottom and on the next page it is very easy to remove items by clicking "remove" below the item.

+ I made a HUGE mistake when I registered!

If you did everything you could to be careful, but still made huge a mistake contact us and we will try to find a resolution. The sooner you contact us, the better.

We will not issue refunds for orders that were placed with multiples of the exact same item. Any order with an item quantity of more than one will not recieve a refund and the extra workshops will be added back into the inventory for somebody else to have a chance.

+ How can I support QuaranTUNE Dulcimer Festival?

All of our workshop fees go directly to instructors. Festival expences are paid mostly with t-shirt sales and sponsorships. So buying a festival t-shirt is a great way to help us pay our bills.

If you want to be a festival sponsor, please contact us for more information.

+ I have a camera, where should I point it?

The short answer is: Wherever you are comfortable pointing it.

Some instructors would rather see your faces than your instruments. The little boxes are small but if we can see your faces, we can tell if everyone looks confused or something needs more explanation.

Likewise, some instructors may want to see your hands/instruments, especially in a beginner level workshop, or a workshop on a physical technique.

After 11 months of online lessons and workshops, your instructors have probably seen a lot of ceiling fans. The most important thing is that you can see your instructor.

+ Do I need to wear pants?

Only if you have your camera pointed at your lap.😂

You can view our zoom turorials and download the guides that explain how to turn your camera on and off in Zoom. Your instructors would love to see you and having the camera on makes it a more fun experience for everyone, BUT if you are not ready to be seen, you can always attend with your camera off.

+ Do I need this "original sound" thing in Zoom?

Not for QuaranTUNE workshops.

If you play music in Zoom and need people to hear you, you want that feature to be turned on, but for these workshops it is not really necessary. You will be muted most of the time unless you're asking a question and you don't need "original sound" for speaking.

+ How do I become a festival sponsor?

Sponsors are listed and linked on our home page. Additionally, sponsor logos and links are listed at the botom of every page of our website. Each sponsor gets a dedicated facebook post to our facebook group (which has a strict "no promotions" policy for everyone else.) Sponsors are also listed in a festival wide email blast.

Contact us to get more information about how to become a sponsor.

+ Can you help me sell my instrument?

Not at this time.

+ I'm afraid these virtual festivals will cause in-person festivals to die out.

The original mission of QuaranTUNE dulcimer festival was to sustain the dulcimer community during a time when in-person festivals were not possible. We have kept dulcimer enthusiasts engaged so they are still interested when in-person festivals come back. We have provided training and much-needed income for dulcimer professionals so that they are still afloat when they can start gigging again.

After QDF 1.0 in June, 2020, we received an overwhelming amount of positive feedback from people who were finally able to attend a festival. This includes people who cannot afford to travel, younger people with children who can't afford to spend their vacation days at a dulcimer festival, disabled people who are unable to travel due to personal health reasons, caregivers who can't travel, and people who live in other countries around the world.

For this reason, we plan to continue offering these events beyond the global pandemic that sparked our formation.

Virtual events have helped sustain this community, but they do not replace the comaraderie, jamming, dining, and social experience that an in-person festival has to offer. We are all dulcimer players and we can't wait to be able to see everyone in person again.

QuaranTUNE Dulcimer Festival is not a competitor to in-person festivals.

+ Can you help me with my online event?

We are happy to answer questions and give guidance to anyone in the dulcimer community. Please contact us if you have questions.

This event is the result of a lot of hard work done by just a few people. We are happy to lend a helping hand to those who ask, but please do not assume anything we produce is public domain and can be taken without explicit permission.

+ Can I Request an instructor?

We try to meet participant expectations by inviting instructors who have been most requested, especially those most-requested instructors who have contacted us showing an interest in teaching at our event.

At the same time, we also try to give oppurtunity to lesser known artists that are great teachers and also have the technical capabilities to produce a virtual workshop presentation that meets our standards.

We offer workshops on many instruments. At this time, our line-up of instructors is limited to people who are directly linked with the dulcimer community.